Getting My Head Above Water

When I took my current position it had been vacant for six months due to the previous director retiring and I knew that I had a backlog of work on day one. Within a month the HIM clerk of my department decided to tenure her resignation to move back to south Texas and I was lost because I truly didn't have my bearings at that time.

I hire a new clerk that I'm not able to properly train and orientate to my department because we are both new here and have clue what's going on and what the problem areas are...clearly I'm worried now. Fast forward 10 months and my clerk has to be laid off due to cut backs at the hospital and I'm left alone in a two person department to do EVERYTHING myself.

I'm not painting a pretty picture because it wasn't a pretty picture. There were stacks of non-assembled and non-analyzed charts, backlogged delinquent charts because I didn't have time to chase doctors and I'm losing my mind. Oh, did I mention that we also entered our Joint Commission window for survey? Yep and I as I entered the hospital each day, I prayed to the hospital gods for JC not to show up....